Page 33 of Lucky in Love
Grief over Jenny’s death. Heartbreak for Max and Lilly’s loss. Anger toward the fugitive for taking another life unnecessarily. And if she dug deep and was honest with herself, yes, simultaneous guilt and relief that it hadn’t been her and Faith. That admission added self-loathing to the mix of jumbled emotions.
“I’m sorry,” Brody whispered, stroking her hair. “I’m so sorry.”
After a minute, Alex pulled herself together, the tears finally drying up. She took a deep breath and released it slowly. “It’s my friend, Jenny. She has a three-year-old little girl. She and her husband, Max, own the Three Bears Inn.” Mundane facts might keep her mind off the emotional part of all this.
“Nick introduced me to them at The Rusty Nail, my first night here. They seemed like a very happy family.”
“Faith and I saw him speed by—Dexter, I mean. We even commented on it. Said that guy was going to kill someone.” She had to choke out the last words. “We should have called the police.”
“Hey,” he said. “Don’t. This isn’t your fault.”
Of course he would say that. But was it true? Could they have prevented it somehow? She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as reality seeped in. Realization that she’d just had a breakdown in front of a man she barely knew.
All of a sudden, she was cognizant of his arms around her. His face close to hers. His lips right there. And his eyes, boring into hers. Almost like he was about to kiss her. That couldn’t be right.
She sniffed, breaking the moment.
Without letting go, he looked around. “Tissues?”
Alex shook her head. Never needed the stuff. He gently extracted himself and went to the bathroom, returning with a roll of toilet paper.
She gave a weak smile as he handed it to her. “Thank you.”
He walked to the kitchen, opening and closing cupboards, presumably to give her a minute to compose herself. She blew her nose and shoved the used TP into her pocket.
He brought her a glass of water and sat next to her again. “Here.”
“Thanks,” she said. “Um, not to be rude, but what are you doing here?” How was it that he’d popped in just as she needed a shoulder to cry on?
He chuckled. “I came to see if you were okay. I figured you’d come home on that road, and when someone at the diner announced what had happened, I…well, I…” He shrugged. “Wanted to make sure you were all right.”
It might have been the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to or done for her. And the lump in her throat returned. She had to nip this in the bud before she broke down again.
“Oh, well, my girls are coming soon. Should be here any minute.”
“Is that a polite way of saying ‘get out’?” He smiled.
Yes, was on the tip of her tongue, but he’d just been so kind to her, and she didn’t want to seem ungrateful. She was saved from answering by the door bursting open. Tess and Juliet rushedto her side, and all three burst into tears, hugging each other tightly.
Alex didn’t see Brody slip out.
They cried together silently, mourning the loss of their friend. When the tears faded, Tess and Juliet moved to adjacent seats in the living room.
“Got any tissues?” Juliet asked, wiping residual tears away with her hand.
Alex tossed her the toilet paper roll.
“Classy, Gray.” Tess reached for it after Juliet had ripped off several squares.
It was enough to break the sad tension, and they all started talking at once about what they knew and how they’d found out.
“Faith still with Max?” Alex asked.
“Yeah,” Tess said. “She stayed after Nick did the notification. He had to return to the accident scene, but they didn’t want to leave Max alone. She’s watching Lilly until Max’s parents can get here from Boston.”
They all nodded.
“What was Brody doing here?” Tess finally asked.
